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View Poll Results: Do you keep your front door unlocked?
Yes-it always is unlocked 24 33.80%
Yes-but only at the start of the day 6 8.45%
Yes-but only at the end of the day 7 9.86%
No, it is always locked 40 56.34%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 71. You may not vote on this poll
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Do You Keep Your Doors Locked During The Day?
BrooklynM 11:55 AM 10-24-2013
Curious to see what everyone does. I live on a busy street and I'm scared to leave my front door unlocked. My daycare room is fairly close to the front door, and I can see out the front window to the driveway from the room. Do you guys leave your front doors open during the day or do you lock them?
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melilley 11:58 AM 10-24-2013
I live in the back of a low traffic, quiet neighborhood so I feel comfortable keeping my door unlocked. Plus my main daycare room is in the front of the house and parents enter there. I don't even require them to knock when coming in.
I also have an 85 lb lab and my dh is here in the afternoons.
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blandino 12:00 PM 10-24-2013
The door for the daycare is around back of the house, so very private. But we still lock the door after the last child arrives and unlock it after the first parent arrives.
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Brooksie 12:03 PM 10-24-2013
I live on a main town road so its very busy. The front door is usually open to let in light but the glass door is always locked.
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Holiday Park 12:03 PM 10-24-2013
I thought the first choice was yes always lock and chose that obe eithout looking as closely. I always lock my doors.
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butterfly 12:10 PM 10-24-2013
Originally Posted by Holiday Park:
I thought the first choice was yes always lock and chose that obe eithout looking as closely. I always lock my doors.
I thought the last one said No - always unlocked. I meant to select always unlocked.

Thanks for voting correctly for me.
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mema 12:14 PM 10-24-2013
Mine are always locked. Parents knock when they arrive and I'll let them in and relock it when they leave.
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Blackcat31 12:15 PM 10-24-2013
Nope. I never lock my door.

I rarely lock it when I pack up and go home for the night.
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craftymissbeth 12:16 PM 10-24-2013
oops, I meant to put No, it's always locked. I apparently didn't read them all the way

I live in the busiest street in my town so it's absolutely important that my doors remain locked 100% during daycare hours. Not only so the kids can't get out but also to keep unwanted people from getting in.
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spinnymarie 12:16 PM 10-24-2013
Always unlocked, but the dc is next to the front door. I can see through the windows/door what's happening before it happens
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Heidi 12:20 PM 10-24-2013
Mine was always unlocked until last week. We bought a new front door, and added a key-pad handle while we were at it. I love it! It locks automatically after 30 seconds.
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JeepGirl6 12:24 PM 10-24-2013
I unlock my doors in the morning until all the children arrive & then I lock them. Same with afternoon, my doors are locked until my first pick up. My daycare is in my basement so I have my daycare parents just walk right in.
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jenboo 12:35 PM 10-24-2013
my front door is always locked. I cannot see it from my daycare room.
All the parents come down the side yard to the sliding glass door that leads into the daycare room. I unlock this door at 7am when i open and lock it after the last child arrives and the unlock it when the first parent is here for pick up.
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Country Kids 01:38 PM 10-24-2013
My door is always open unless we are in the backyard BUT yesterday it was locked for the entire day as we had a triple shooting a mile from our home and the suspect was on the loose.

Still can't find the person but pretty sure he has left the area.
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TwinKristi 01:40 PM 10-24-2013
I usually leave it locked unless the SA boys are playing out front. I didn't use to lock it but now my DS is big enough to open doors and the DCKs are following suit! I don't do it because of crime or something, more for safety to keep the kids inside.
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Familycare71 01:48 PM 10-24-2013
Originally Posted by Heidi:
Mine was always unlocked until last week. We bought a new front door, and added a key-pad handle while we were at it. I love it! It locks automatically after 30 seconds.
I want to get the door lock with a key pad and remote. That way I could always keep it locked and unlock it as people come
I currently leave it unlocked for drop off, locked during the day, unlocked once SA get home and through pick ups. I live in a raised ranch so I would have to do too many trips to unlock for each parent- but when we are in the dc room I can't see the door so I like it locked
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daycare 01:57 PM 10-24-2013
where I live, I have to have an emergency egress door handle. My front door is always unlocked from the inside, but always locked from the outside.

I actually prefer it this way, I have full control of when parents come in. Often when my first drop off arrives, I am running down the hall still changing my clothes as I run towards the door to open it. I can only imagine if my front door was not locked...oh boy.....
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Cradle2crayons 02:23 PM 10-24-2013
I live way out rural and then another 300 yards from the road. It looks just like you are turning into the woods.

The doors are always unlocked here..as well as the camper and the vehicles.
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spud912 02:50 PM 10-24-2013
We live in a city with one of the highest theft rates in the nation. Our neighborhood is nice and we've still had things stolen out of our vehicles when we forgot to lock them. Plus I've had some shady people knock on the door before. The doors are always locked. Not only that, but my children are definitely capable of opening the front door. They know not to, but I don't want to risk a one time lapse in memory. For the safety of everyone, the door stays locked ALL the time (deadbolt at the bottom and locked at the top).
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Scout 05:02 PM 10-24-2013
I keep mine unlocked in morning from firat drop off to last, then lock it until pick up time.
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hope 05:08 PM 10-24-2013
I keep unlocked for the few minutes at drop off and pick up time. I live in great neighborhood where nothing ever happens. But you never know, so I keep alarm on and doors locked all day besides those few minutes each day.
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LoraJenkins 05:12 PM 10-24-2013
After having our vehicles broken into several times, I always lock the doors. Parents know this and understand that I am here alone with the children. It's for the children's safety as much as my own.
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Laurel 05:13 PM 10-24-2013
Originally Posted by mema:
Mine are always locked. Parents knock when they arrive and I'll let them in and relock it when they leave.

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e.j. 05:18 PM 10-24-2013
My front door is always locked because we really don't use it. The back door is the entrance my own family and the dc families use. I keep that unlocked most of the time although I did lock it temporarily a few years ago.

I had been waiting with my dd at the bus stop about a mile up the road. A man stopped by in his truck and asked if we needed help. I explained we were just waiting for the bus and he left. After getting dd on the bus and returning home, I was about to hop into the shower to get ready for day care when I happened to glance out the window. The man in the truck was sitting across the street from my next door neighbor's house, kind of kitty corner from my house. It made me incredibly nervous. After that, I started locking my back door once all of the dc kids arrived for the day. Nothing ever happened so I gradually felt more comfortable leaving it unlocked. Once in awhile I'll hear something in the news that makes me feel as though I should the doors locked at all times but for the most part, I'm in a low traffic/low crime area so I don't worry about it too much.
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Sunchimes 06:02 PM 10-24-2013
Mine is always locked. I live on a main street with a lot of foot traffic and because of my previous business, well, it's a small town and there are too many people who know where I live.

The other reason is that we live in an old, vintage house. Some days the front door will latch and some days it won't, depending on the weather and how the blackland soil feels about shifting that day. We have indoor cats who stalk that door, just waiting for it to drift open so that they can go play in the street. I have it in my handbook that parents should always make sure the door is locked after they come in, and I make sure it's relocked when they leave. It's become automatic for everyone.
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dbslas 06:40 PM 10-24-2013
Ours is usually locked, with the exception of morning and afternoon drop-off. For those brief periods where it is unlocked we have a sensor in front of the door, and when someone comes in or is on the porch the bell goes off -- it sounds like 7-11 and is sooo annoying. Even the kids now repeat the sound of it: ding-dong, ding-dong. Ugh!
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MarinaVanessa 06:50 PM 10-24-2013
I live near a busy road but my street has no outlet and only the residents and our guests drive on it. I live in a townhouse condominium complex and so its pretty private. Even then I always keep my doors locked. I have a Schlage Link door handle with keyless entry system (you enter a code into the pad) and I'm able to give each of my clients their own code. The outside is always locked but of you're inside you can use the handle and geyvout without having to unlock anything.

I lock my doors because in my city we always have at least 15 burglaries each week and they are mostly because people leave doors or windows unlocked. Sometimes people are home! Apparently people just walk around from door to door sometimes knocking then of no one answers they try the doors and windows sometimes even trying the garages. I personally just feel safer locking my doors.
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caregiver 07:54 PM 10-24-2013
My doors are always locked. In the summer if I have my front entry door open so that the screen door lets in fresh air, I always will have the screen door locked. I live in a metropolitan area and I just don't feel comfortable leaving my doors unlocked at all. Even after the kids have gone home and it is just my husband and myself, I still keep the doors locked. My daycare parents have told me time and time again that they are so glad that I keep the doors locked, it makes them feel that their child is being kept safer.
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mamac 08:02 PM 10-24-2013
I always keep my door locked except for the few minutes before I am expecting an arrival or pickup. I've got 2 families that show up within 15 minutes of each other in the morning and I lock it between them. I don't want people showing up and walking in if I am in the middle of doing something else in another part of the house and I can't hear them coming in.

I have an open door policy that says they can come by anytime but that it does not mean my doors will be unlocked for them when they get here.
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Unregistered 08:10 PM 10-24-2013
Ok so it seems like at least once a month I get something in the mail from the city or whatever with information about which sex offenders are being released and what they did and how they did it etc. Also photos are sent with these. I also have a known drug house down the road so yes, all the doors and windows are locked and kids are told to leave them alone for there own safety. They get it and I feel safe and they feel safe and parents feel safe.
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My3cents 11:56 AM 10-25-2013
I lock it after last parent drops off and then open it before pick ups. I like the comfort of my door being locked during the day.
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EntropyControlSpecialist 11:58 AM 10-25-2013
ONLY for the first 30 minutes of the day and the last 20 minutes of the day. All other times it is locked!
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EntropyControlSpecialist 11:59 AM 10-25-2013
Originally Posted by dbslas:
Ours is usually locked, with the exception of morning and afternoon drop-off. For those brief periods where it is unlocked we have a sensor in front of the door, and when someone comes in or is on the porch the bell goes off -- it sounds like 7-11 and is sooo annoying. Even the kids now repeat the sound of it: ding-dong, ding-dong. Ugh!
LOL my door does this too but none of the kids have ever repeated it. I'm so thankful now!
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jojosmommy 12:40 PM 10-25-2013
Locked. Union is going around soliciting signatures. Keeping it locked if you kwim ; )
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Blackcat31 12:46 PM 10-25-2013
Originally Posted by jojosmommy:
Locked. Union is going around soliciting signatures. Keeping it locked if you kwim ; )
Still?!?

I thought they gave up already...
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daycare 12:53 PM 10-25-2013
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Still?!?

I thought they gave up already...
I was just approached by Union the other day......I saide Buzz off
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sharlan 01:06 PM 10-25-2013
I have a keypad on my front door. It always stays locked and only one of my parents has the code.
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blessed mom 04:05 PM 10-25-2013
Locked every day all day. I have no idea why you would keep it unlocked. I have a window where parents can see in but the door is locked.
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